The 2025 Vuelta a España (Cycling Tour of Spain) kicks off this Saturday, August 23, in Turin, Italy, and will end on September 14 through the streets of Madrid. The route will focus on the northern half of Spain, featuring a high level of mountain biking and limited time trials, and will once again cross the country's borders.
La Vuelta celebrates its 90th anniversary in its 80th edition, and in this very special event, the race will visit three countries – Italy, France and Andorra – along with 10 Autonomous Communities – all in the northern half of Spain –, with a total of 10 mountain finishes and where they will repeat ports that have provided plenty of opportunity for attacks in past editions, such as the climb to Larra-Belagua or the Alto de La Farrapona.
The race will start in Italy, which will host the start of La Vuelta for the first time. Three stages will be entirely on Italian soil, with the fourth heading towards France. The Piedmont region, at the foot of the mountains and with the Alps as a backdrop, will be the sixth stage to start from abroad, following Lisbon (1997), Assen (2009), Nîmes (2017), Utrecht (2022), and Lisbon-Oeiras-Cascais (2024).
Of these early Italian stages, the second stands out for its effort, which will mark the first mountaintop finish on the second-category climb in Limone Piemonte. The peloton will arrive in Spain, with no rest day in between, with a long journey from Voiron to Figueres (Girona), where the first battle against the clock will take place on the fifth stage, with the novelty of being a team race.
This will serve as a link for the first two demanding finishes. The race will travel to Andorra on the first mountain stage with a final climb to Pal, which shares the first kilometers with the climb to Arinsal, where Belgian Remco Evenepoel won in 2023. The following day, it's Cerler's turn, returning to La Vuelta a la Vuelta after 18 years.
Before the rest day, the race will pass through Zaragoza to close the first section with the climb to the Valdezcaray ski resort, where the first part of the stage, which is practically flat, could favor the breakaway.
THE RETURN OF BELAGUA, L'ANGLIRU AND THE FARRAPONA
With no time to rest, the peloton will tackle the climb to Larra-Belagua, which debuted in La Vuelta 23, and the following day will experience a medium-mountain stage that will be tough around Bilbao with up to seven climbs, highlighting the double pass over the Alto del Vivero before heading towards Asturias.
In the Principality, one of the giants of the Spanish Grand Tour stands out. The thirteenth stage will be the longest of this edition, covering 202 kilometers. The first part of the day will be spent pedaling parallel to the coast, facing the wind, leading up to the tough finale of the Alto de L'Angliru, with gradients of up to 25% and the dreaded Cueña Les Cabres. The Vuelta 25 will conclude the second week of competition with a short and tough climb up the Alto de La Farrapona.
After the second rest day, the third and final week begins in Galicia, with a mid-mountain stage that the sprint teams will want to control to avoid potential adventurers. The city of Mos will once again take center stage after the final stage of La Vuelta 21, before beginning the descent toward Madrid with the climb to Alto de Morredero, the 26-kilometer individual time trial in Valladolid, and a flat stage through the province of Salamanca as a prelude to the final high-mountain stage.
The Sierra de Guadarrama could decide this year's champion with a winding stage with virtually no flat kilometer, featuring four climbs before the final ascent to the Bola del Mundo, an extension of the Puerto de Navacerrada. This climb debuted in the race in 2010 with a victory for Ezequiel Mosquera, and was repeated two years later, securing Alberto Contador's second overall finish.
To round off the spectacle, the peloton will once again run through the streets of Madrid. Last year, there was an individual time trial and a celebration of the centenary of Telefónica. At the end, there will also be a podium ceremony and the presentation of jerseys after just over 100 kilometers, which the winners will savor.
–2025 VUELTA ROUTE.
STAGE 1 08/23 TORINO-REGGIA DI VENARIA – NOVARA 183 KMS.
STAGE 2 08/24 ALBA – LIMONE PIEMONTE 157 KMS.
STAGE 3 08/25 SAN MAURIZIO CANAVESE – CERES 139 KMS.
STAGE 4 08/26 SUSA – VOIRON 192 KMS.
STAGE 5 08/27 FIGUERES – FIGUERES (CRE) 20 KMS.
STAGE 6 28/08 OLOT – PAL. ANDORRA 171 KMS.
STAGE 7 08/29 ANDORRA LA VELLA – CERLER. HUESCA LA MAGIC 187 KMS.
STAGE 8 30/08 MONZÓN TEMPLARIO – ZARAGOZA 158 KMS.
STAGE 9 31/08 ALFARO – VALDEZCARAY SKI RESORT 195 KMS.
-DAY OFF-
STAGE 10 02/09 SENDAVIVA NATURE PARK – LARRA-BELAGUA 168 KMS.
STAGE 11 03/09 BILBAO – BILBAO 167 KMS.
STAGE 12 04/09 LAREDO – LOS CORRALES DE BUELNA 143 KMS.
STAGE 13 05/09 CABEZÓN DE LA SAL – L'ANGLIRU 202 KMS.
STAGE 14 06/09 AVILES – FARRAPONA HALF. SOMIEDO LAKES 135 KM.
STAGE 15 07/09 TO VEIGA/VEGADEO – MONFORTE DE LEMOS 167 KMS.
-DAY OFF-
STAGE 16 09/09 POIO – MOS. HERVILLE FORT 172 KMS.
STAGE 17 10/09 OR BOAT FROM VALDEORRAS – HEIGHT OF EL MORREDERO. PONFERRADA 137 KMS.
STAGE 18 11/09 VALLADOLID – VALLADOLID 26 KMS.
STAGE 19 12/09 WHEEL – GUIJUELO 159 KMS.
STAGE 20 13/09 ROBLEDO DE CHAVELA – BOLA DEL MUNDO. NAVACERRADA PASS 159 KM.
STAGE 21 14/09 ALALPARDO – MADRID 101 KMS.
